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Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Magic MOMents

"Every day, God gives us, as well as the sun, a moment when it is possible to change anything that is causing us unhappiness. The magic moment is the moment when a “yes” or a “no” can change our whole existence. Every day, we try to pretend that we do not see that moment, that it does not exist, that today is the same as yesterday and that tomorrow will be the same too. However, anyone who pays close attention to his day will discover the magic moment. It might be hidden in the instant that we put the key in the door in the morning, in the moment of silence after supper, in the thousand and one things that appear to us to be the same. This moment exists, a moment in which all the strength of the stars flows through us and allows us to perform miracles." - Paulo Coelho

There are so many magic moments to discover in Motherhood. I call them MOMents -- the MOMents every mother lives for. . . MOMents that melt our hearts, take our breath away, and warm our souls. . . magic MOMents spent with those little people who mean so much to us. . .

My magic MOMent shown here happened on a day this summer when our weekly preschool nature program was cancelled unexpectedly. We were so excited to show up at the park that day to learn about "Butterflies." When we realized upon arrival the park ranger could not meet with us because of a family emergency, my daughter and I set out to discover Butterflies on our own. Wouldn't you know -- there was not a single butterfly in sight!

Instead, we discovered a beach at the park we had never seen. We met a fisherman who let us peek in his bucket to see his daily catch. We were startled by a stingray (called Skates up here on the Chesapeake, according to our friendly fisherman) jumping along the surface of the water. (My daughter now giggles every time she sees a skate.) We skipped along the beach, wrote in the sand, and stopped for a rest on the most peaceful bridge we could find.

I love how sometimes our favorite memories are the ones created when our plans fall through, when life presents us with a detour that leads to beautiful journey of discovery. . . A magic MOMent indeed.